614 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dbo. 26, 18«6. 
which will lead tfaem out. They like company and an 
appearance of rivalry. Such dogs may make an acci- 
deatal find and may do good work on birds when such 
are found, but owing to heedlessnesn and a lack of con- 
centration, they are on their own merits poor flndera, 
To be able to interpret all such details comes only from 
close observatinn and experience. 
As nearly all field trials employ three'judges — an un- 
necessary number when thoroughly reasoned experts are 
engaged, as two are amply sufficient— the third judge 
should be a new man if poasiblf , so that the club be train- 
ing and graduating new material; for with the two disci- 
plined experts, the third man, whether he be competent 
or incompetent, will have no material fflfect in there- 
suits; if he be competent he but emphasizes their judg- 
ment, and if he be incompetent they decide against him. 
Still, such is a most excellent course for the education of 
judges, without prejudice to the equity of the trials. 
The mere matter of deciding which is the better of two 
or more dogs is but a part of the duties of a judge nowa- 
days. He should be perfectly familiar with the grounds, 
so for each heat he can lay out a course that, while 
giving the dogs a full opportunity to display their quality, 
will avoid pocketing the company and throwing judges, 
handlers and dogs back through the spectators' horses, or 
pulling about on erratic nouraes, breaking up the ranging 
Djr running the dogs in short lines here and there, and ir- 
ritating and separating the handlers by continual ordering 
from one plnce to another. One dog is mostly always in 
hand better than the other when the course is changed, so 
that his handler, hurrying to be at work in the new direc- 
tion, is ahead before hie competitor can start; thus there 
is a disorganized competition. 
In laying out the course for the handlers to '^ork their 
dogs, the judges must also keep in mind a rendezvous for 
the wagonc, so that the heat will ^nd near them and the 
next brace be turned down without delay. All these 
matters are now managed with a precision by expert 
judges which a few years ago would not sepm possible. 
Every detail comes harmoniously in proper sf quence, 
A course being laid cu*-, it should be followed with a 
reasonable consistency; that is to say, the judges should 
only depart from it when circumstances ot real impor- 
tance make it necessary. The mere fact of a handler 
crying out ' Point, judgt s," and then breaking away in a 
run, should not stampede them from their course. The 
days when a handler could break away, shouting ' Point, 
judges!" and carry the judges after him at a gallop, are 
gone by. 
Nor should the judges gallop out after a dog which is 
ranging; first, because if the dog sees th^m he will range 
further away still; second, it is undignified; third, if the 
dog works correctly he will work to his handler, be his 
range wide or close, Lence the spectacular riding is un- 
necessary aside from showing hrave horsemanship, A 
few years ago the furious riding was quite common. 
When a dog is really lost it is another matter. 
A firm, good-temperpd management of the handlers 
and a strict observance of fairness will win their resppct, 
and if the judges will not themselves stampede thrre will 
be no hustling on the part of the handlers. When the 
latter learn that the judges will not gallop to points, they 
go in a more orderly manner themselves. A dog which 
will not hold his point till his handler can walk up to 
him has little claim to winning if he has any competition 
worthy the name. 
If a handler cannot keep his dog on a course laid out 
for him by the judges, it is his own loss, for it would be 
unreasonable to expect them to follow a course laid out 
by the dog, though such unreasonable concession has been 
made in trials of years ago. It is diff > rent now. 
Lastly, the judges should know when they have com- 
petition enough to decide the stakes, for generally up to a 
certain point everything works to acertam climax, and if 
this is passed the whole situation is changed. The relative 
standing of many dogs is broken by the accident of cir- 
cumstance and an anti-climax follows. The judges may 
know which are the best dogs, but they may have run 
them to a standstill, while others, though inferior by acci- 
dental advantages, such as better time of day, better parts 
of grounds and better opportunities on birds, may be 
making the best final showing. It is a most eoabarrass- 
ing position for the judges when part of the competitors 
are run to a standstill while others, less deserving and 
fresher from unavoidable ad vantage, seem to be able to go 
on with the competition, and the last work in most in- 
stances is more impressive on the spectators than is the 
first. 
THE IRISH SETTER AS A FIELP DOG. 
PAST AND PRESENT.— n. 
LiTTLK Vallkt, N. Y. — Ekiitor Forest and Stream: In 
my observation of the modern Irish setter I found that 
many of them were soft-hearted, p lor in nose and with 
little or no bird sense. By soft-heartedness I mean that 
they would not stand hard work, were averse to taking 
heavy cover and were prone to potter about. By bird 
sense I mean that they had no judgment in handling 
game, would either nose about footsenting the game and 
fiush it or point in a half-hearted manner, or were rattled 
in the presence of game. To a practical sportsman there 
are no more serious faults than these. He wants a dog 
with p'enty of endurance — one that is continually search- 
ing for game; one that will hunt all sorts of cover in all 
sorts of weather, 
A shooter may kill game over a dog that will hunt, but 
never over one that will not. To eradicate these faults, it 
is the duty of breeders to so mate their dogs as to pro- 
duce results the opposite of these. I am well aware that 
this is perhaps a long undertaking, but it can be done 
with a proper understanding of the case and a concerted 
movement on the part of practical breeders. The dog is 
a most lovable one in dif position, and, properly bred and 
trained, is all a sportsman could wish as a field dog. 
In the year lb86 I purchased of Mr. Max Wenz -1 the 
Irish setter bitch Gypsy Maid. She was by ch, Tim — 
Florid. Mr. Wenzil wrote me that Florid was a fine one 
on game and had a strong cross of R >d man's Dash blood 
in her veins. Of Tien he wrote that, though he had 
never been prop^^rly broken while yuung, he still pos- 
sessed all the essential qualities of a goud field dog, I 
afterward found these statements to be true from a per- 
sonal observation. 
Gypsy Maid in color was a light red, and by no means 
was she a show dog. She had a splendid body and 
good leg9 and feet. In digposltion she was much like her 
sire. She was full of hunt, and could stand any 
amount of hard work, and was useful and hard 
headed. She was broken by me on grouse and 
woodcock, and in her second season was a good 
one on these birds. She, however, wps not a pleasant dog 
to shoot over unless kept constantly in training, her dis- 
position being suoh that when taken out only occasionally 
she was most difficult to control. I have entered thus 
minutely into her disposition to show that it is one of the 
most essential things to know about if good results are to 
be expected in breeding. 
I bred her on two occasions to champion Chief. Of her 
first litter three were bench show winners as puppies, and 
while they made fairly good field dogs, they were nothing 
out of the ordinary. Sh'^ was afterward bred to Redfern 
with splendid results. The litter produced Nugget, the 
winner of the Irish Setter Derby in 1891, and other 
equally good field doQ;s. Unfortunately, bffore she could 
be again bred to Redfern 8h« died, thus ending any 
chance of producing a second Nugget or perpetuating a 
good cross for field work. Redfern, the subject of this 
sketch, and of which a portrait is herewith published, 
was by Sarsfield — Queen Bf»e. He also was li^ht in color, 
with no white, was compactly madio. with splendid body, 
legs and feet. He had a very intelligent head and splen- 
■ ■ .■; 
J 
MR. A. M. VALBHTINB'S RKDFBHN (17,012). 
did eye. In dipposition he was the very opposite of 
Gypsy Maid. He was very even-tempered, v^ry level- 
headed, never excitable, and was possessed of Fplendid 
judgment; but as a puppy he was extremely timid, and 
was very gun-shy, but, aa is usually the case with gun-shy 
dogs, he posseesed a remarkably fine nose. 
I broke him on ruffed grouse and woodcock, and he was 
very fine on these birds. He handled grouse with great 
judgment, and as long as I owned him they were his 
stronghold. I afterward hunted him in the South on 
quail, and it took a good one to beat him on these birds. 
While not a fast dog, he would maintain a good, swing- 
ing gallop, and remain so constantly at bis work that I 
have seen him get the better of dogs many times faster 
than he. As will be seen by his photo, he was far above 
the average Irish setter in style on point. In motion he 
carried a high head, with a high and merry tail action. 
These are both rare things in the Irish setter and are two 
points to breed them up to. Dr. H. B. Anderson. 
NATURAL QUALITIES AND CLASS. 
It requires a long experience for most men to grasp the 
merit of field trial competition ia its full braadth and im- 
port. Their measure of merit, perhaps unconsciously 
dominant in their minds in making their jud^tments, is the 
number of shots at birds which could be obtained from 
each dog. The important field matter, pointing, is per- 
mitted to dominate all the competition, and not a few 
men base all their conclusions upon it. Of course, point- 
ing is an important part of the competition, but it is not 
all of it. There are other qualities which are equally im- 
portant with it and which must be equally considered if 
just judgments are to be rendered. 
The act of pointing can be performed well by many 
dogs which will not venture 20yds, from their handlers; 
but their, powers of finding are so inferior that for prac- 
tical use they are next to worthless. Nevertheless in com- 
petition with good finding dogs, such dogs may make a 
good showing in respect to the number of points made, 
and the superficial judge or spectator may give them 
credit for a good performance when really their showing 
was built on the work of their competitors. 
As to number of points made in a field trial, the matter 
of more or less of them made by one dog or another is 
most times a matter of favoring opportunities. 
Grounds, cover, more birds in one section than in an- 
other, wind, tpmperature, morning and midday hours, 
are constantly changing conditions, so that_no fixed rule 
is worth a fig so far as it may serve to guide the judges 
to a correct decision. Their general knowledge of the 
work and the principles of the competition can alone 
serve them. One dog, be he ever so good, cannot pos- 
sibly make a good showing of point work in quantity 
in an area where there are few birds, though his more 
favored competitor in another and better area may make 
a good showing. And yet the matter of a few points 
more or less in times past seem to have misled judges 
in estimating the dog's merits. Many more inscances 
could be advanced to show how mislea'^mg are poio's 
taken alone as the data for the awards. Tae dog a real 
ability should govern. 
That there existed such a distinction between point 
work alone and the individual merit of the dogs' work re- 
spectively was recognized years ago, but unfortunately the 
term used to indicate it was misleading in its implication 
that is to say, the distinction was made between point 
work and natural quality. The latter, even by experi- 
enced men, was misuBderatood, and was thought to de- 
note the qualities of the wild, imperfectly broken dog, 
and not a few such appeared in the trials. 
In theory the idea was correct enough, since it included 
both the dog's natural and acquired qualities; but the ex- 
pression "natural q/iality," as commonly understood, 
was erroneous as applied to field trials. Instead, it should 
have been the class of dog and work. 
By judging a dog on the class of his work a much better 
and more accurate judgment is j)08sible, and the term ia 
not misleading to anyone, even to those who know of 
trials only indirectly. 
A dog of a certain class will repeat his performance, or 
so near it that the judges' estimate of him will be pal- 
pably correct. He will show his class of work nearly 
every time he runs. A dog judged by a few good points 
on birds, points mad« under peculiarly favoring oppor- 
tunities, as will happen now and then, does not neces- 
sarily repeat his performance. Thiq was recently and 
thoroughly demonstrated at the U. S. F, T, C. trials at 
Newton this year in the case of a certain dog which had 
done some good point work, yet whose general perform- 
ance — his class work — showed but meager ability, noth- 
ing meritorious in it that he could repeat with certainty; 
the result was that he went on record as a winner in one 
competition and a humiliating failure in another, though 
the class of his work was alike at all times. 
Instead of the misunderstood term "natural qualities," 
which notwithstanding its implication was intended to 
denote cI jss as applied to the dog, the better way would 
be to recogniz'^ the olass of a dog's competition and judge 
him accordingly. Nj mere consideration of a few details 
alone can take the place of the judges' general knowl- 
edge. The term class recognizes all the dog's capabilities, 
natural and acquired, and also his material performance 
in the competition, so that these data are the true,since they 
include all. Such judging will bring out dogs which can 
show an even class of work one heat with another and 
one dog with another. 
So far as making by rule the field trial conditions alike 
for each dog, or even approximately so, it is visionary. 
It cannot be done. It is a physical impossibility. Topog- 
raphy, number of birds, their humor one hour or day 
with another, their abundance in one Stiction of grounds 
and scarcity in another, tempprature, cover, weather, 
wind, etc., are factors so diverse and unmanageable that 
the judgtrs can only govern themselves according to cir- 
cumstances as they find thpm, doing their best to int^lli- 
gently shape the competition on the best basis of equity. 
The man who endeavors to compass it all by rule ia one 
who has an impjrfect knowledge of the matter. 
American Dachshund Club. 
At the sixth meeting of the club the financial report 
was accepted. The club will offer for the coming A. K. 
C, shows the Vi^nlow challenge cup, the Klein's breeders' 
trophy, f.') for best American bred dog in open class, $5 
for b(8t American bred bitch in open clp,s8. In addition, 
the present mpmbers raised a handsome purse for other 
specials to he cffered in B )8ton, New Yorfe, Chicago and 
St, Louis. New members were acopptpH; James L Little, 
Jr., Cambridge, Mass ; Chas H. Njble and Geo. M. 
Bryan, Toronto, Canada; Jacob Grimm, New York. 
A. Froembukg, Secretary. 
N. E. K. Club. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Inclosed please find corrected list of judges of the New 
England Keontl Club's show, Feb. 3-5. 1897; also please 
siaiein your next i^sue that parties wi'-bioe ib>ir dogs cared 
for in interim between Bo-ton and New York shows can 
make spi^cial rates with tne manaaer of the New England 
Kfnnfl Club's boarding kennels, at Braintree. Mass., situat- 
ed a lew miles out of Boston, by writing to him and making 
early application. Those taking advantage of th s offer will 
be givtn special rates on cars from Bramtree to New York. 
"There will be published very shortly the full list of special 
priz' s, which we are pleased to say are coming in in goodly 
numbers. Kennel prizes of if^lo each will be offered in the 
iollowing breeds and under the foilowing conditions: 
A Kennel to consist of tbree doss entered and owned by 
one exhibitor; but no Kennel prize will be awarded unless 
there are two competitors for it: Bloodliounds, mastiff's, 
St. Bernards, Greai Danes, deerhouuds, greyhounds, Rus- 
sian wolfiiounds, foxbounds, pointers, Euglish, Irish and 
Gordon setters, spaniels over 28 pounds, cockers, beagles, 
collies, poodles, bull dogs, bull terriers, Boiton terriers, 
smcolh and wired haired fox teiriers, Bcott'sh terriers, Irish 
terriers and pugs. E. M, Oldham, Supt. 
National Beagle Club of America. 
An executive committee meetiog of the National Beagle 
Club was held Monday, Dec 14, at tbe American Club. 
Membi rs i resent were: Messrs H. P. Schellhass, J. W. 
Appletnu, John B^teman, A Wright Pott, George Laick, 
N. A. Ba'dwin and George W Rogers. 
Ernest W. Hazelburst, of Sing Sing, N. Y,, was elected 
to raemberbhip. 
Yoted that specials be presented at the Westmins;ter Ken- 
nel Club sbow and New England Kennel Club show. A 
bronze m^edal to tbe best beagle in the show, alf-o |10 to the 
best beaji'te other tban the cnallecge classes, provided that 
tbe judges be selected Irom the club's official list. Open to 
members of the National Beagle Club only. 
The matter of selecting grouneJs for holding next trials 
was dibcussed. A committee will be appointed to look up 
suitable grounds. 
Meeting aojourned. G. "W. Eogebs, Sec'y. 
The Alabama Field Trials Club. 
This club antiounced its first trials to be held at Madison, 
Ala . on Feb, 8 It will run a Derby and an A l-Aged 
Stake, both on sweepstake plan, 50, '<i5 and 15 percent, to 
the winners of first, second and third respectively. Dogs 
to be eligible must be tbe p>roperly of amateurs who are resi- 
dents of Atiibama, and winners of first in any Derby or All- 
Aged S ake of a recognized trial, prior to Feb. 8, '97, or 
wnose owner or handler may have handled for money in 
any public trials, are barred. Tbe judges are Messrs W. B. 
Stafford and Gus Albes, Decatur, Ala. H. K. Milner, Sec- 
retary, Birmingham, Ala. 
